Ernst & Young Launches Prestigious Entrepreneur Award in New Countries
The publishing house Kommersant has become a media sponsor of the Entrepreneur of the Year award program, which Ernst & Young, the world’s largest auditing and consulting firm, has conducted annually for 17 years. Now entrepreneurs globally have gained an opportunity to participate in this competition, and this step indicates that business in these countries has acquired a deserving reputation in the international arena. Alexander Ivlev, a partner in Ernst & Young, emphasized the historical significance and success of private companies in participating countries. Gregory Ericksen, a managing director of Ernst & Young, runs the international competition. Support is provided by entities such as CNN, CNBC, NASDAQ International, and USA Today. The program’s sponsors also include Citigroup, SAP AG, Dell Computer, Société Générale, Deutsche Bank, and others. Prestigious judges from the business world, such as John Wall, President of NASDAQ International, have been part of the panel.
The Importance of Recognizing Leading Entrepreneurs
Many winners of past competitions have become international business leaders. They include Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com), Michael Dell (Dell Computer Corp.), Pierre Omidyar (eBay Inc.), Howard Schultz (Starbucks Corp.), Scott McNealy (Sun Microsystems), Larissa Herda (Time Warner Telecom), and others. According to Ernst & Young experts, the average capitalization of the winning company is $22 billion. The NASDAQ Stock Market’s list of 100 leaders includes the names of 53 winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The winner for 2002 was named in Monte Carlo last month: Narayana Murthy, Chairman of the Indian company Infosys Technologies. Participation in the traditional event in Monte Carlo offers not only an opportunity to represent globally but also a platform for exchanging ideas for business development. The underlying idea of the competition is to make the world’s best business practices more widely known.